


on a day like this, the heat

by fleury



Category: Tiny Meat Gang (Band)
Genre: Ice Cream Parlors, M/M, Surfing, beach towns baby!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:22:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21854446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fleury/pseuds/fleury
Summary: "Anything for you?” Noel asks, looking over at Cody.In that moment, Cody's brain goes completely offline because Noel's eyes are soft and green, and.“Uh, vanilla.”Noel blinks at him, looking like he’s trying to keep from breaking out into a smile. “Alright, dude, a cup or a cone? How many scoops? Are we talking classic vanilla, or—“ He makes a vague gesture, pointing towards the board. Cody wonders why the actual fuck this place has five different variations of vanilla ice cream.
Relationships: Cody Ko/Noel Miller
Comments: 20
Kudos: 188





	on a day like this, the heat

**Author's Note:**

> this is actually something i started so so very long ago n i opened it up today n like.......was taken aback at its existence
> 
> anyways! merry holidays heres a beach fic :)
> 
> title from "feels like summer" by childish gambino

When Cody stands at the ocean’s edge, it calls for him. He swears. 

There’s nothing else like it, nothing like the sand between his toes, the breeze on his face, or the sun kissing his skin. Not a single thing could ever compare to the taste of ocean water on his tongue, the sharp scent of the beach. 

He’s been born and bred in states doused in sunshine, but not a day goes by that Cody gets used to it. Not a second passes that he tires of the rush of catching a good wave, the thrill of riding it just right, locked in by tall aqua walls, menacing and bold. It’s all he ever wants, it was his first love — _the beach_. 

Cody would never leave, if it were up to him. And, well, he doesn’t have to. He’s got a place with Devon just out of the ocean’s reach, he stays as long as he can, but late into the evening the sun dips beneath the horizon. Above the water, the sky purples, painting a perfect picture of beauty. The moon rolls out and there’s a breeze that isn’t always prevalent during the day. It chills the air, raises the hairs along the back of his neck, and Cody hates that it means he has to go, but. 

Cody’s in love. He fell, and it has always been so easy, just to love, and love, and love. It’s his entire world within the confines of his own little oceanside town, and Cody would hate to leave that. It’s a gift, nothing far from heaven, and he’s never needed anything more. 

He could lie down in the sand, staring up at the specks of gold dancing across the inky sky, and breathe in the ocean’s final breath of the day. Cody could stay here forever. Even without the waves, it’s everything.

+

The first thing Cody notices about the ice cream parlour that opens up just off the boardwalk is that it’s a lot different compared to the other restaurants lacing the place. It’s not touristy, nothing flashy or loud to attract the families that flock to beach towns through the summer months. It’s a quiet presence, with decor that looks like it’s been pulled straight out of the 80’s. 

Devon obnoxiously points out the checkerboard flooring and accents of chrome just about everywhere. It has booths and tables with seats covered in bright vinyl, perfectly untouched, and an honest to god juke box a couple kids are toying with. 

It’s a lot to take in, if he’s being honest, but Devon was so fucking insistent on dragging him in here for a breath of fresh air. Even if he forced Cody to throw on a shirt because _no shoes, no shirt, no service_ , which, like, fuck that. They’re at a beach for crying out loud. 

The parlour is fairly empty, which is definitely a bright side. There are couples tucked away in booths with legs still dusted in sand, sharing painstakingly crafted frozen treats and parfaits. Cody really hopes Devon doesn’t get any fucking ideas. 

The boy manning the counter smiles at them. “What can I get you guys?” He doesn’t sounding like he’s from around town. In a respectful way, of course, his accent strengthened by years _up north?_ Cody can’t quite pin point it. He’s got a little tag pinned to the front of his uniform, reading _Noel_ in big blocky letters.

“Can I get a scoop of butterscotch ripple? In a cup, please,” Devon orders, while Cody stares cluelessly at the board of 55 flavours hanging from the ceiling and that’s including the day’s special, which looks a lot like one big mess of chocolate. 

“For sure,” Noel says absentmindedly, his focus training on the ice cream and rolling up a scoop for Devon. He drops it into a cup with a vibrant red spoon, ringing it up. “Anything for you?” He asks, looking over at Cody.

In that moment, his brain goes completely offline because Noel’s eyes are soft and green, and.

 _Fuck_ , he forgets he’s supposed to be saying things. “Uh, vanilla.” 

Noel blinks at him, looking like he’s trying to keep from breaking out into a smile, or maybe laughter. “Alright, dude, a cup or a cone? How many scoops? Are we talking classic vanilla, or—“ He makes a vague gesture, pointing towards the board. Cody wonders why the actual fuck this place has five different variations of vanilla ice cream.

“Cone, and one,” he blurts, and then, “Uh, yeah.”

He glances over at Devon, who’s grinning wildly at him while Noel goes through digging out another scoop, looking focused on trying to fit it in the cone perfectly. Cody’s definitely not gentle about elbowing Devon’s ribs, throwing on a small smile while he pays for both of their ice cream to make up for it. 

There’s a tip jar, and Cody drops his change in there, which gets him a soft little smile from Noel, a lot different than his chipper customer service one. Cody feels his heart jump.

“So,” Devon says once they get outside, dragging out the _o_. “Guys, right? They’re hot.”

Cody stares at his ice cream a little more than aggressively. It’s already melting a little. “Shut up.” 

“I’m just saying. Your gay is showing,” he says, stuffing his face with a cross between _bad for you_ and _really bad for you_. “I don’t get how you fuck up that bad, what happened?”

“I’m allergic to being around you, it was acting up again,” he answers defensively, trying to stomp down the urge to push him onto the sidewalk. 

“Or maybe your _gay_ was acting up.”

“Stop doing that,” he snaps, voice full of contempt. “I don’t start yelling about it when you ask 10 random people for their digits.”

“I don’t even do that,” Devon protests, even if it’s a whole lot of a lie. Cody’s seen him getting rejected by complete strangers more times than he can count. Devon is his own brand of slutty.

“Sure, you can tell yourself that but I know the truth.” 

“Says the guy who literally just fell in love with a dude just trying to _do his job_. Poor kid wasn’t prepared for this kind of baggage, you should’ve seen his face.”

“I didn’t know what to say,” Cody huffs.

“Yeah? So you went with _uh, vanilla_.” He lowers his voice, Cody guesses it’s supposed to be an imitation of him. For what it’s worth, it’s not very good. 

“I could do an impression of you, too,” Cody says. “But I’d rather not publicly embarrass myself.”

“Low blow. Have fun having sweet, sweet vanilla sex with your ice cream boy,” Devon rebukes.

Cody groans helplessly, because Devon is loud enough that people are going to stare. “I’m gonna cut your tongue off.”

“Is that before or after you lick ice cream off his—“

“Yo, look at that helicopter,” Cody interjects quickly, a little sharp, pointing at a sky without clouds. One without aircraft, too. Devon rolls his eyes.

+

Cody doesn’t usually end up with a craving for sugar after an afternoon spent in the water, but he can’t help himself when he throws a sweater on and leaves his board at home to make a quick ice cream run. 

Devon doesn’t question it when he’s in and out of their place, busy pencilling in answers to whatever homework he has, and Cody’s entirely grateful to avoid having to make up an excuse. Because, like, he doesn’t have one. He kind of just wants ice cream. 

It’s crowded at the parlour, the evening crowd rolling in. Mainly families, loud and cheerful, packed into the tables outside the shop to enjoy the crisp night air. There’s a line up at the counter, which actually gives Cody enough time to settle on something other than vanilla. A lot of the things on the menu are ridiculous, flavours containing words Cody has never heard anyone use, but they look good at least. Even if he can’t trust himself to say _strawberry ‘stravaganza_ without tripping over his tongue in front of Noel.

Ordering is a lot easier this time around. “Can I get you something?” Noel asks, wielding a clean scooper in his hand.

“A scoop of — bubblegum in a cone,” he says, more distracted by Noel’s hands this time around. He should probably start pretending every little thing about him doesn’t amaze him.

“Coming right up.”

Again, he lets his change clink against the rest of the coins in Noel’s tip jar, and maybe he feels a little too warm at the smile he gets in return. A part of him considers dumping the entirety of his wallet into it, just so he can hold onto that for a while longer. 

Cody settles down at a counter where it’s a little less busy. He can sit down and take in the vibes of the parlour, enjoying his ice cream and chancing the occasional glance at Noel working. He’s good with customers, always maintaining a little smile on his face while chatting them up, making useless small talk and joking around with the kids.

The point is that it’s nice. Noel’s just — good.

Cody eats slow enough that the ice cream parlour clears out some by the time he starts on his cone, trying desperately to keep his bubblegum mess from dripping onto his fingers. 

And when Noel leaves his spot behind the counter to a girl who looks way too tired to be working, he starts wiping down the empty tables, eventually getting to the counter Cody’s sitting at. 

“How’s it tasting?” He asks, and Cody knows this isn’t a good time to nearly choke, but he still manages. 

“Great, thanks. A lot better than vanilla,” he says, feeling a dizzying heat biting at his ears. Cody knows he’s not going to be able to blame it on the summer forever. 

“Wanna know a secret? Everything’s better than vanilla,” Noel insists, and Cody can’t believe he’s still talking to him. Even after he finishes up wiping down the counter, mostly just trying to make himself look busy. “Are you in town for the summer?” 

Cody feels a swell of pride to be able to say he’s not another tourist, like this is proving himself to Noel or whatever. He knows he couldn’t care less, but hey. “Been living here for a while, actually. You?”

“Moved out here from Toronto,” Noel says.

Cody’s never been up there, he’s never even thought about it, but now that he knows it’s where Noel grew up he thinks he might visit if anyone asked. “How’re you liking it?”

Noel stares down at his washcloth, concentrated. “It’s different,” he says, and when he looks back over at Cody, there’s something incoherent behind his eyes, where his gaze drops to his soupy ice cream. “Toronto isn’t anything like this, y’know. It took a while to get used to. I still get looks everytime I open my mouth, but, yeah, it’s fun.”

Cody laughs. “I bet everyone thinks you’re a delight.”

They chat for a little longer than what might be accepted by Noel’s managers, but he doesn’t seem to bat an eye at that, gleefully talking about how energetic and lively everything is here. He goes on about how he’s never seen a beach so pretty, or met people so down to earth, and he doesn’t even complain about tourists, or the weather, or the crowds. 

He _does_ , however, poke fun at surfers, and Cody bites his tongue, smiling as Noel waves his hand around and goes on about how they’re all walking parodies of themselves. Cody still laughs at his jokes, because fuck it, he owns a shark tooth necklace, has a sea shell collection, and walks around without a shirt. He’s a stereotype and he can’t even help it. 

“I swear to god, it’s a mess,” he says, shaking his head, but there’s his smile on his face like he’s thinking up another joke. “Anyways, I won’t take up all your time,” Noel adds politely, once the conversations lulls, and Cody nods his head in understanding. Noel’s still working anyway.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll see you around,” he answers, getting up from his seat, and he has an inkling of bravery where he tells him, “If you ever wanna catch a few waves with me, just lemme know.”

Noel’s eyes go a little wider, and the look on his face makes it all the more worth it. “Oh, my god, you—“

Cody throws up a shaka sign as he’s leaving, feeling a wide grin stretch his lips.

+

It’s shitty, to be rained in with Devon.

The patter of water against their windows is unrelenting, harsh and frustrated. Cody watches it quietly, one foot skimming the floor and the other bunched up with him on his windowsill.

“I’m bored,” he tells Devon, sighing loudly enough to catch his attention.

Devon is slumped over in bed, humming along to Brockhampton. He’s got a notebook open in front of him, and Cody swears he’s been staring down the exact same page of whatever he’s studying for what feels like hours. 

“Shut your ass up,” he says, sticking his tongue out at him. “At least you don’t have homework, running around all day with your vanilla boy.”

Well, Cody’s convinced he wouldn’t be anywhere else, anywhere but that oddly familiar ice cream parlour. With Noel, Noel who has this small little smile he only gives Cody, who lights up _like that_ , who has unruly hair that peeks out from under his ball cap, who’s sweet, and funny, and good with kids. And Cody thinks — he wants him. Wants him so badly.

But, like, “Devon.” He frowns, pressing his cheek to the cool window. 

Devon looks anxious. “Sorry, is — are you not into him?”

Cody’s not sure what to say, whether or not he can trust him with that. “What do you think?”

Devon stares at him, looking thoughtful. It’s something sincere, something entirely unlike the Devon Spinnler he knows. “Hey, it’s okay,” he says. “Does he know?”

“Do I look stupid?”

Devon grins. “That’s a no, then.” He taps his pen against the page, clicking it on and off. “Guess your work’s cut out for you, then, huh? Gonna woo him with your surf magic?”

Cody scoffs. “He thinks surfers are obnoxious.” 

“Yeah, until you let him have a taste of your vanilla cream.”

“Oh, gross, _Devon_ ,” he says, laughing a little too loud. 

Then, Devon is humming along to the music playing in his earbuds again, crossing over into singing. And Cody just shuts his eyes, trying to let everything go blank, but it won’t happen. 

He thinks a lot about Noel, is the thing.

+

It’s by chance that Cody sees Noel on the boardwalk, still heated and exhausted from his run, but if anything steals the breath from his lungs it’s the way Noel stretches like a cat in the sun. Soft and golden, turning his head towards sunrise like he’s trying to etch it to memory, absorbing the heat and swimming in it. 

Cody blows out a slow breath, trying not to stare, but Noel catches his gaze, waving him over with the softest curl of his lips. 

“Hey,” he says, his eyes dragging over Cody in just about the most obvious way possible. It makes his cheeks burn, more than they already are. 

“Hi,” Cody answers. He’s not sure what else to say, because he’s already breathing a little hard, probably sweaty, too, and Noel just looks so fucking beautiful.

“I was just about to open up,” he says. “Wanna drop by? I’ve still got time.”

Cody wonders if that’s apart of the package, tooth-rotting friendliness. It’s sweet, Noel always is. “Yeah, I’m here for it.”

They walk in mostly companionable silence, with a little comment here or there. Noel stares out at the beach in awe, and he looks the exact same way Cody feels whenever their hands brush, or when Noel gently knocks their shoulders together. 

The trip is short, and they’re back at the ice cream parlour in moments. It’s cozy early in the morning, warmer than usual. 

Noel slips on his hat, backwards this time, and hops up onto the counter. “You want me to fix you up with something?” He wiggles his eyebrows like he needs to try and convince Cody. For the record, he definitely doesn’t. Noel probably gets a lot of things his way.

“Your shift hasn’t even started yet.”

Noel glances over at him before slipping behind the counter. “I’m sure my boss is gonna be just devastated I started early.” 

He washes his hands, looking like he might throw the towel at Cody when he says, “What an angel.”

“You sweet talking me, Cody?” He’s wearing this shit-eating grin.

“Don’t even start.”

Noel picks up the scoop and stares down the buckets of ice cream. “What’re you in the mood for? Vanilla?”

“ _Hey_.” He feels himself flush. “Not nice.”

“You literally came in here and ordered vanilla, Cody.” Noel laughs, scrubbing a hand over his face. “We’ve got 55 flavours and you just went _uh, vanilla_.”

“I got distracted,” Cody admits, watching while Noel rolls his eyes and scoops up something chocolatey. 

“By what, exactly?” He pops it in a sprinkle-covered waffle cone, looking proud of it. 

“You,” Cody says, before he can stop himself, and Noel looks a little taken aback. He knows just what’s implied in that. He doesn’t care

“Hah.” Noel sucks in his bottom lip, holding out the cone. “Chocolate chunk cookie dough, one of my favourites. You’ll like it.”

His heart is fucking racing as he reaches out to take it, all too fixated on the way their fingers touch. “Rainbow sprinkles? Really?” He asks, trying to cover for the tangle of emotions spiralling in his head. The cone’s a little stupid, so. 

“Don’t you like it?” He teases, leaning over the counter to get closer. “It’s an abstract piece. Should be in a museum.”

Cody goes in for a taste. A taste of, like, the ice cream, not Noel, and tries to keep the embarrassing noises sealed behind his lips. “Fuck, it’s good.” He’s gonna have to run this off. “How much do I owe you?”

“It’s on the house, my treat.”

“That’s really sweet, but.” Cody presses his lips together. “I’d feel bad.”

Noel laughs, and Cody swears he can feel his focus zero in on him when he licks the ice cream again, which is — a thought. Fuck. “It’s not a big deal at all, I swear.”

“I wanna make it up to you,” he says insistently.

“You don’t have to.” Noel’s really obvious about checking him out again, the sweep of his eyes is just so easy to follow. 

“I want to.”

He smiles. “I mean, are you free later today? My shift ends at 6, we can hang out by the beach. If you’d be down.” 

Cody tries to hold back his excitement. “Yeah, I’d like that.” 

He doesn’t stay the entire time Noel’s working, because if he’s out for as long as he has to be, Devon is going to start suspecting shit. Even if spending the morning with Noel is much more appealing than having to head back. He likes watching him work, and Noel occasionally comes by to strike up conversation before getting practically dragged back behind the counter. 

“I’ll be back in a bit, promise," he tells him, and Noel flashes him a grin. 

“Come by at 6:30, I’ll have a chance to change back at home.” 

Cody thinks he could kiss him, if he really wanted to. He could lean in and peck his cheek. Doesn’t. 

Devon says something about going to Marcus’ place when Cody drops by, but really all that registers in his head are the parts where Devon makes a stupid face and asks if he’s even listening. Usually, he’s not.

And once the numbers on the clock tick up to 6:30, Cody picks Noel up from the ice cream parlour, where he’s dressed in blue boardies and a white shirt that hangs loosely off his chest. Cody has to take a moment to breathe, because that’s a lot of leg all at once. Noel’s sitting up on one of the tables, staring at the sky as he waits. Because sitting on places he shouldn’t is his thing, Cody guesses. 

“Hey,” he greets, trying not to let his nerves show. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” Noel says. “As I’ll ever be.”

+

Cody likes to think he doesn’t act like a total idiot when Noel strips off his shirt and leaves it in the sand, feet hitting the edge of the water. He call him over, that same smile on his face, and Cody feels his throat click.

They’re in the water for what feels like ages, laughing and diving deep to grab stones and shells off the ocean floor. At some point Noel yells when Cody throws a string of seaweed at him, and he gets him back by ducking underwater and pulling him down with him.

Cody forgets about everything but Noel for a minute. For a minute, Noel’s the centre of his world and he likes how that feels. Wants it more.

When they’re sprawled out in the sand, staring up at the darkening sky, Cody tries not to think about just how good Noel looked in the ocean, with water dripping out of his hair and rolling down his body. Cody wants to get his mouth on the droplets, to lick them off and taste the salt on his tongue. It’s a thought that shocks him, makes him bite his lip and try to suppress it, but he can’t tuck it anywhere but the back of his head.

“I wanna see you surf,” Noel says suddenly. He doesn’t turn his head to look at Cody. “I’m off tomorrow, if you’re up for it.” 

Cody smiles before he can help it, feeling dazed under the soft glow of the setting sun. “You want to?”

“Yeah.” His laugh is surrounded by light edges, this easy thing that’s nothing but sweet on Cody’s ears. “I do.”

+

When Cody’s surfing, when he’s riding a wave, he knows just what he looks like. He knows what Noel’s seeing. 

The first time he picked up a board was so long ago that it comes back to him in broken memories, something blurry and incoherent in his head. Cody’s been doing this his entire life, it _is_ his life. It’s something that comes to him like second nature, staying upright as the wave rolls, curling overtop him and trapping him in a cave of turquoise. The sea spray in his eyes, and hair, and face, he’s in his element. 

When the wave steals his balance and tugs him down under, he surfaces to Noel grinning wide from his spot on the shore, his hair damp and drying. 

Cody swims out to him, throwing his board down onto the sand. The ocean is licking at his ankles, right where the sand is tacky against his feet. “What did you think?”

Noel whistles. “You’re good. Like, _really_ good.”

Cody drops his eyes sheepishly. The praise means the a lot, sets the tips of his ears ablaze. He knows he’s flushed, and the fact that he’s already breathing a little ragged doesn’t help.

He splashes the water at him, and Noel laughs, shielding his face. His button up is open, hanging loose by his sides, and Cody tries not to stare at the divots of his abs, the way he looks up at him through lowered lashes. He thinks Noel knows he’s looking, but he doesn’t mention it.

Cody holds a hand out for him. “C’mon, I’ll show you where my favourite spot is.”

Noel smiles and takes it.

+

They spend a lot of time together after that, fucking around on the beach and laughing at each other. 

Noel makes a sand castle because he actually knows how to pull something other than a big lump of sand together, and Cody helps him decorate it with pretty white shells, ingraining little patterns into it. They play volleyball under the glimmering sun, and Noel quips at him every second of it. Sometimes they’ll eat ice cream by the water, lying on their towels and talking playfully. It’s new. Something Cody doesn’t usually do with his friends.

“I have work in a bit,” Noel says bitterly. “Come by?”

That’s something else that they do, Cody dropping by the parlour randomly. Noel will make him a sundae with too many sprinkles, or give him a cone with three scoops, or whip together something that isn’t even on the menu, and Cody always tips him extra. 

It’s just how things are.

+

He gets lucky when he convinces Noel to come along with him on one of his morning runs, picking him up from the modest little condo he lives in.

Noel’s in a thin hoodie, his hair tousled. It’s early enough to be pissy, but Noel just smiles and lets Cody lead him down to the beach, where the rush is nowhere to be seen. It’s nobody but them for miles. 

Neither of them say much while they run, but there’s still the silent competitiveness between them, driving each other further and further. It’s extra motivation, knowing they can do it, that it’ll be worth it once they stop.

It’s a while before they both throw in the towel, and it’s a lot farther than Cody usually goes, down to the pier jutting out over the ocean. They’re both breathing hard, flushed and sweaty.

Noel puts his hands on his head, laughing when he catches Cody glancing over at him. “You’re stubborn, huh?”

That startles a chuckle out of him, but he’s all too breathless to turn it into anything else. Like, words.

The pier creaks under them when they end up walking down it. It doesn’t take much convincing on Noel’s part, because Cody’s tired enough to follow along, sitting down and hanging his feet off the edge.

The loudest sounds between them and the beach are the little waves sloshing at their legs, or the seagulls crying out in the distance. It’s calming, sitting down and taking in the moment. With Noel it’s perfect.

“Thanks for coming with me,” Cody says lightly, wondering if it sounds just as dumb as it feels to say it out loud. “It’s just nice to have a friend who won’t try to choke me out for dragging him down to the beach this early. And to, like, run, no less.”

“I mean.” Noel huffs out a laugh, his shoulders jumping shortly. “I think. Or, well, I hope we—” He goes quiet again, looking a little determined as he stares out at the splash of colours along the horizon. “That we could be more than just. Friends.”

Cody isn’t even sure that he’s hearing him right, but. 

He’s definitely hearing him right.

He tries to keep his expression cool, but he knows the pink on his cheeks is spreading, if it hasn’t already. “Noel,” he says, it comes out quieter than he’d meant.

“Sorry, I just — I don’t know if it’s just me. Feeling this way.”

“No, no, that’s.” Cody isn’t sure how to word anything at this point, the right things to say slipping from his head. “I mean, yes. Yes, I want that, too. I — yes.”

Noel smiles at him, the sun caught in his eyes, and Cody feels his breath get stuck in his throat.

He leans over, slow enough that Cody could tell him to stop, but he doesn’t. He’s waited for this, waited so fucking long, and then Noel’s kissing him. His mouth is careful and a little chapped. He tastes like toothpaste, and Cody chases after it, kisses him back.

They don’t talk when they separate, but Cody lets himself press into him, feeling heat tingling along his side. Noel sets his hand on his.

He closes his eyes, and everything else drifts away.

+

Cody likes to run his thumb along the faint smattering of freckles along Noel’s shoulders, brushing off the sand stuck to his arms and kissing his sun spots. It’s unreal, when he’s curled up in bed next to him, bright and beautiful against pale white sheets.

They don’t, like, _do_ anything because Devon is home, but Cody still finds himself so, so enchanted by everything about Noel. It takes a moment for him to remember this is all real, that he’s not dreaming.

Noel laughs quietly when Cody tucks his face in the crook of his neck, where it’s warm and welcoming, and sets his teeth on the skin gentle enough that it doesn’t hurt. Just because he doesn’t know how to keep away, not when he has this. His skin tastes like saltwater. 

"I’ve wanted this forever,” Cody whispers, more honestly than he’d intended to.

Noel strokes a hand down his back, leaving a trail of warmth. “ _Cody_ ,” he breathes, his voice slow, and it’s everything.


End file.
